ADVERTISEMENT

Splint application: Step 2

Fashion the newspaper into a flat bar 2 to 6 inches wide and thick enough to allow only a little bending so it can conform with a bend in the hip (or shoulder) and be compressed onto the dorsum of the vertebral spinous processes. The newspaper bar is laid on the lateral surface of the entire limb and its length increased or decreased as needed to insure proper length (ending at the distal second phalanx). Some mild flexion of the joints is allowed so the splint won’t be so long as to make it difficult for the patient to walk.